Review: Grit by Angela Duckworth

Want some inspiration? Read for some grit tips

What makes someone succeed? University of Pennsylvania Psychology professor Angela Duckworth believes it's a combination of discipline, passion and grit.

In 2016 she wrote the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance with lots of interesting stories backed up with research, her own and many other psychologists past and present. You could say Duckworth is passionate about the subject and determined to know everything there is to know about grit.

Some of the stories on people like Jeff Bezos when he was a child, or Warren Buffet's tips on career goals, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll in 2013, and actor Will Smith insisting he will be No. 1, one way or another, who said this in 2003:

Duckworth has numerous examples of grit

"The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is: I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period. You might have more talent than me. You might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me. You might be all of those things. You got it on me in nine categories. But if we get on the treadmill together, there's two simple things: You're getting off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple."

He said this long before he smacked Chris Rock on stage during the Academy Awards in 2022. This kind of dates Duckworth's book (and same with how Bezos has turned out), but their stories still show how they became successful.

In Grit, Duckworth says just because someone has talent or genius doesn't mean they have grit , compared to someone who is determined and practices relentlessly. When you have talent and add effort, you get skill. And with skill added with more effort leads to achievement.

But what about flow, the state in which athletes and artists do their sport or art effortlessly? A competitive figure skater described it like this:

"It was just one of those programs that clicked. I mean everything went right, everything felt good... it's just such a rush, like you could feel it could go on and on and on, like you don't want it to stop because it's going so well. It's almost as though you don't have to think, everything goes automatically without thinking..."

It is a state that does not have anything to do with improvement, Duckworth says. "In other words, deliberate practice is for preparation, and flow is for performance."

What is deliberate practice? She says it is a clearly defined stretch goal; full concentration and effort; immediate and informative feedback; and repetition with reflection and refinement.

In order to do that it doesn't necessarily mean endless hours of doing something over and over again, but intentional, deliberate practice with the goal of improving, which entails making it a habit, a ritual that is done daily.

With these kinds of ideas and research, readers wonder what they can do to get grit, and Duckworth addresses this in the last few chapters of the book, particularly how parents can instil grit in their children through discipline, but not the Asian Tiger Mom way, but teaching them to finish what they started and to do it well.

It also has to do with passion, because without it, why bother? Duckworth says if a child wants to quit a sport or a musical instrument or dance, they can't stop on a whim, or when they have a bad day; they should only do that when there is a natural end, like the season or school year is over. 

She also stresses that it's important to be a role model for your children, so they see that you struggle and that you are determined to finish a challenge like a marathon, or complete writing a book.

As writer Alex Martinez says: "To finish things, you have to put the work in. When I was younger, I'd meet many people who were writing stuff. They'd say to me, 'Oh yeah, I am a writer as well, but I've never finished anything.' Well, in that case, you are not a writer. You are just somebody who sits down and writes things on a bit of paper. If you've got something to say, go ahead and say it and finish it."

But one doesn't have to be a parent to try to instil grit in children -- they can be extended family, friends and teachers who encourage kids by giving them opportunities and knowing how to push them, by saying things like, "I'm giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them", instead of "I'm giving you these comments so that you'll have feedback on your paper."

The child or student realises that someone believes in them and wants to see them do well which can inspire them to do better next time. That's what Duckworth's research shows.

When it comes to work, company culture that promotes grit will also develop employees who want to work hard. Not the Chinese "996" way, where one works from 9am to 9pm, six days a week, but what Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase says in the company manual, How We do Business: 

"Have a fierce resolve in everything you do." "Demonstrate determination, resiliency, and tenacity." "Do not let temporary setbacks become permanent excuses." and "Use mistakes and problems as opportunities to get better -- not reasons to quit."

And finally, don't just finish something, but finish strong, putting in as much effort as you did in the beginning and at the end. 

Duckworth says one can grow their grit and the time to start is now.